The present invention relates to heat transfer mechanisms, and more particularly, to heat transfer mechanisms and cooling assemblies for removing heat generated by an electronic circuit module.
The efficient extraction of heat from electronic circuit modules for very large scale integrated circuit packages has presented a significant limitation on the design and use of such electronic modules. The power consumed in the integrated circuits generates heat which must in turn be removed from the package. Lacking an efficient heat transfer mechanism, the speed, reliability and power capabilities of the electronic circuit modules are limited. As the density of circuitry within very large scale integrated circuit chips has increased, the need for improved heat extraction has become even more acute since more densely packed chips tend to have a higher need for heat dissipation per unit area. It is also known that runaway thermal conditions and excessive heat generated by chips is a leading cause for failure of chip devices. Furthermore, it is anticipated that demand for heat removal from these devices will continue to increase indefinitely. Accordingly, it is seen that there is a significant need to continue to further improve upon cooling mechanisms for electronic devices.
Briefly summarized, the present invention comprises in one aspect a cooling assembly for an electronic module. The cooling assembly includes a thermally conductive cavity plate and at least one jet nozzle. The cavity plate has a first main surface and a second main surface with at least one blind hole formed in the second main surface extending towards the first main surface. Each blind hole has a lower surface and a side surface. The lower surface and the side surface connect at a non-orthogonal angle to facilitate the flow of fluid therealong. Each jet nozzle is sized to reside within a respective blind hole of the cavity plate. Fluid is introduced into the cavity plate through the at least one jet nozzle, and impinges upon the lower surfaces of the respective blind hole and flows outward through space defined between the side surface of the blind hole and the side surface of the jet nozzle. The non-orthogonal angle between the lower surface and the side surface of the blind hole facilitate fluid flow, after impinging upon the lower surface, outward through the space defined between the side surface of the blind hole and the side surface of the jet nozzle.
In another aspect, the present invention comprises a cooling assembly for an electronic module, wherein the cooling assembly includes a thermally conductive cavity plate and at least one jet nozzle. The cavity plate has a first main surface and a second main surface with at least one blind hole formed in the second main surface extending towards the first main surface. Each blind hole has a lower surface and side surface. Each jet nozzle is sized to reside within a respective blind hole of the cavity plate. Fluid introduced into the cavity plate through a jet nozzle impinges upon the lower surface of the respective blind hole and flows outward through a space defined between the side surface of the blind hole and a side surface of the jet nozzle. At least one jet nozzle includes a side surface having a plurality of radial channels disposed therein. The space defined between the side surface of the blind hole and the side surface of this jet nozzle includes the plurality of radial channels. Fluid delivered through the jet nozzle impinges upon the lower surface of the respective blind hole and flows outward from the blind hole at least partially through the plurality of radial channels disposed within the jet nozzle.
In still another aspect, a method of fabricating a cooling assembly for an electronic module is presented. The method includes: providing a thermally conductive cavity plate having a first main surface and second main surface with a plurality of blind holes formed in the second main surface extending towards the first main surface, wherein each blind hole has a lower surface and a side surface; providing a plurality of jet nozzles, at least one jet nozzle including radially extending pedestals on a side surface thereof which are sized to physically contact the sidewall of the respective blind hole when the jet nozzle is disposed at least partially therein; and interference fitting the at least one jet nozzle into a respective blind hole, wherein fluid introduced into the cavity plate through the jet nozzle impinges upon the lower surface of the blind hole and flows outward through the space defined between the side surface of the blind hole and the side surface of the jet nozzle, wherein the radially extending pedestals physically contacting the side surface of the blind hole define the size of the space between the side surface of the blind hole and the side surface of the jet nozzle.
In a further aspect, the invention comprises a method of fabricating a cooling assembly for an electronic module. This method includes: providing a thermally conductive cavity plate having a first main surface and a second main surface with a plurality of blind holes formed in the second main surface extending toward the first main surface, wherein each blind hole has a lower surface and a side surface, and radially inwardly extending fins disposed along the side surface; providing a plurality of jet nozzles, each jet nozzle including radially inwardly extending fins on a side surface surface configured to interdigitate with the inwardly extending fins on the side surface of a respective blind hole when the jet nozzle is disposed within the blind hole, with a gap being defined between the interdigitated fins; and disposing each jet nozzle of the plurality of jet nozzles within the respective blind hole, wherein fluid introduced into the cavity plate through a jet nozzle impinges upon the lower surface of the respective blind hole and flows outward through the gap defined between the interdigitated fins of the side surfaces of the blind hole and the jet nozzle.
To restate, various enhanced cavity plate and jet nozzle assemblies are disclosed herein to facilitate the removal of heat from a structure, such an electronic circuit module. These assemblies enhance the ability to remove a large amount of heat with a low temperature difference. Further, the assemblies presented provide a low coolant pressure drop, and are compact and modular in design.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention.